The History of X-Force

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We explore Marvel's deadliest mutant team in all its forms.

By Jesse Schedeen

The X-Men franchise is constantly shifting as new events and story developments alter Marvel's mutant community. X-Force has been no stranger to big changes over the years. The team of militant mutant heroes first debuted in 1991, with X-Force #1 immediately becoming one of the best-selling comics in history. The team's fortunes have ebbed and flowed in the two decades since, with the series flirting with cancellation more than once but also finding new resurgence and again becoming one of Marvel's most popular books.

With Marvel having already debuted one new X-Force title in December and prepping a second for launch this week, we figured now was as good a time as any to look back at the long and colorful history of the franchise. We explore the various creators that have come and gone, as well as how the characters and their mission have shifted from the early 90s through Marvel NOW!

In its various incarnations, New Mutants is a series devoted to chronicling the adventures of a younger generation of mutants training to become full-fledged X-Men. But by the late 80s the book's cast were no longer wide-eyed teenagers. When Rob Liefeld took over art and plotting duties on the series, he began revamping the tone of the book and introducing new characters. The result was a darker, grittier take on the New Mutants. With the series finale in issue #100, characters like Boom-Boom, Warpath, and Rictor graduated and became members of the all-new X-Force.

Led by the mysterious, gun-toting mercenary Cable, the team became a more militant counterpoint to the regular X-Men. Their foes included the Mutant Liberation Front and its armored mastermind Stryfe (eventually revealed to be a clone of Cable). X-Force immediately became one of the top-selling books in the industry thanks in large part to the popularity of Liefeld's artwork. However, Liefeld's art was and still is extremely divisive, and many readers criticized the book's excessive violence and convoluted plotlines.

Sales inevitably declined when Liefeld and other top Marvel artists left the company to form Image Comics. However, the book maintained a strong following under writers like Fabian Nicieza and Jeph Loeb. The book's focus began shifting away from Cable after the character's apparent death and the subsequent launch of his own solo series. Characters like Boom-Boom and Warpath remained common fixtures in the book well into the 90s.

On the Road

As seen in: X-Force Vol. 1 #63-115

By the latter half of the 90s, the mainstream comics industry was in a lousy state. The speculation rush of the early 90s had given way to a market crash, and most books sold at a fraction of the level they used to. Even the former sales behemoth that was X-Force wasn't immune.

It was during this period that Marvel began bringing in new writers and toying with the general direction of the series. First, writer John Francis Moore gave the book a more lighthearted tone as he sent Warpath, Meltdown, Moonstar, and others on an extended road trip that further distanced the team from Cable's world. A year later, the characters eventually settled down in San Francisco (a full decade before Cyclops uprooted the X-Men).

However, these changes failed to revive the ailing series. Marvel's next move was to revamp the entire X-Men franchise under the banner “Revolution.” This new story direction was perhaps most notable for marking the first time Chris Claremont returned to the X-Men books following his acrimonious departure from Marvel in 1991.

While Claremont embarked on short-lived runs on both X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, Warren Ellis was brought in to steer three other series – X-Force, X-Man, and Generation X. These three titles became more intertwined and fell under the “Counter-X” moniker. Ellis plotted and co-wrote all three titles, and Ian Edginton collabrated with him on X-Force. The X-Force characters were returned to their roots (to an extent) as they became a black ops squad commanded by the wily mutant Pete Wisdom.

Unfortunately, none of the books in the “Revolution” revamp were particularly well received by fans or critics. With the first X-Men movie shining a new spotlight on the franchise, the time had come for a more bold revamp.

That revamp came in 2001, with Grant Morrison's New X-Men leading the charge. Morrison's post-modern, science fiction-influenced take on the X-Men and the decision to switch from spandex costumes to movie-esque black leather informed the rest of the X-Men line.

If anything, the revamp of X-Force was even more extreme than the one in New X-Men. Following the apparent deaths of the entire X-Force team in Edginton's final issue, Peter Milligan was brought in to debut an entirely new version of X-Force. This wasn't a team of militant freedom fighters or carefree wanderers, but rather a group of fame-hungry celebrities. With Morrison already exploring the concept of the X-Men as a brand, Milligan pushed it several steps further with a team of mutants only too happy to sell out.

The tone was far more surreal than any X-Force story before it (especially with artists like Mike Allred and Darwyn Cooke defining the look of the series), and the fact that character deaths were frequent and sudden lent the book an air of danger and unpredictability rare to mainstream superhero titles. Fans of Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men series who wonder what the deal with Doop is would do well to check out this run.

Unfortunately, even this major overhaul failed to put X-Force on top of the charts alongside New X-Men. Shortly after Milligan took over the series, it was relaunched and retitled X-Statix. With Cable becoming Soldier X and Deadpool becoming Agent X, clearly Marvel was taking the idea of the “X” branding to heart. X-Statix continued for several more years, enjoying a modest but devoted following.

Superhero comics tend to operate on a pendulum, with the status quo eventually swinging back to where it began. Such was the case with X-Force in 2004. Milligan's X-Statix run was winding down, and Marvel reunited the original X-Force creative team on a mini-series that capitalized on the growing 90s nostalgia among readers.

Once again, Rob Liefeld drew and plotted the book, while Fabian Nicieza handled the final scripts. This new X-Force was once again led by Cable and included classic members like Shatterstar and Domino. The series also resurrected Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation Front. The nostalgia angle seemed to resonate with readers, and the book enjoyed decent sales success. However, alongside the familiar criticisms of old, the book was derided because Liefeld recycled a number of pages from unpublished Marvel work, resulting in a very disjointed story detour.

The mini-series was followed up by another called called X-Force: Shatterstar, which explored the titular character's actions leading up to his return in X-Force Vol. 2. Liefeld plotted the book, with Brandon Thomas scripting and Marat Mychaels pencilling it.

Following Liefeld and Nicieza's brief return to X-Force, the franchise remained dormant for a few years. Nicieza turned his attention to the team-up series Cable & Deadpool, which featured several X-Force regulars in guest roles from time to time. However, the true return of X-Force came in early 2008 following the conclusion of the Messiah War crossover under writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost.

In the status quo of that period, Cyclops had assumed full control of the X-Men and ordered a cross-country move to San Francisco. He spearheaded a new version of X-Force designed to protect the dwindling mutant race from its most dangerous foes. The team included a mix of classic X-Force characters (Warpath, Wolfsbane, Domino) and new additions (Wolverine, X-23, Archangel). The characters donned stealthy black and grey versions of their uniforms and were encouraged to carry out missions with lethal force (a constant source of struggle for many).

The primary villain of the series was the hybrid Sentinel known as Bastion, who plotted to wipe out the world's last remaining mutants. The fight with Bastion culminated in the franchise-wide crossover storyline Second Coming, after which this incarnation of X-Force disbanded.

The series enjoyed a generally favorable critical reaction, though some complained about the variable art quality and the frequency with which it crossed over with other titles. But in terms of sales, it proved to be the most successful revamp of X-Force to date.

Wolverine's X-Force

As seen in: Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1 #1-35

Several months after the finale of Second Coming, Marvel relaunched X-Force again as Uncanny X-Force. Writer Rick Remender spearheaded the new series. Conceptually, the team was similar to the previous incarnation, with Wolverine bringing together a small band of mutant assassins to tackle dangerous threats to the mutant race. Only Archangel returned from the previous group, and Psylocke, Deadpool, and Fantomex rounded out the squad. Early conflicts centered around the team's efforts to halt the return of Apocalypse, first as a cloned boy and then from a corrupted Archangel.

The series shifted gears slightly at the midway point as it reflected the new status quo brought about by Jason Aaron's mini-series Schism. Wolverine's group was now charged with secretly safeguarding the students of the Jean Grey School, a task that brought them into conflict with a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Uncanny X-Force proved to be a major success for Marvel both critically and commercially. Fans applauded the quality of Remender's writing, the consistency of the artwork despite the rotating cast of pencillers, and the accessible approach to complex X-Men continuity. Remender recently wrapped up the series, though several plot points will continue to be explored in the pages of Uncanny Avengers.

Marvel's most recent X-Force launch again returns to a more 90s-inspired cast of characters. The series, written by Dennis Hopeless and drawn by Salvador Larroca, builds from the fallout of Avengers: X-Sanction and Avengers vs. X-Men. Cable has been cured of his decades-long infection by the techno-organic virus, but the result is that his body is dying and his telepathic mind is plagued by visions of dark future events.

This new X-Force is comprised of mutant fugitives like Colossus, Forge, and Domino. Their goal is to use Cable's knowledge of the future to prevent his premonitions from coming true, even as their actions paint them as criminals in the eyes of the X-Men and Avengers. The series is also hinting at the return of Cable's clone/eternal nemesis, Stryfe.

Female Friendly X-Force

Uncanny X-Force #2 variant cover

As seen in: Uncanny X-Force Vol. 2 #1-present

Encouraged by the popularity of Uncanny X-Force and the resurgence of the X-Men franchise as a whole, Marvel will be publishing two concurrent X-Force titles for the first time in 2013. As the name suggests, Uncanny X-Force Vol. 2 is intended to pick up where Vol. 1 left off. Replacing Remender and his collaborators are writer Sam Humphries and artist Ron Garney.

Interestingly, the new team is almost entirely comprised of female characters, offsetting what is generally a very testosterone-laden franchise. Of the previous Uncanny cast, only Psylocke and Cluster are returning. Joining them are Storm (newly embittered following AvX and sporting her mohawk again), Spiral, and former Alpha Flight member Puck.

Not much is known about the mission statement of this new team, but Marvel has revealed that Bishop will serve as a recurring antagonist to the team. Bishop was last seen as a nemesis to Cable in that character's previous solo series. Bishop ultimately failed to kill Cable's adopted daughter Hope (an action he believed would have prevented his future reality from coming to pass), and was left stranded in the far future.